Fluid additive control valve

ABSTRACT

A valve arrangement includes various improvements useable in the context of a fluid additive system, such as a water softener. For example, the valve assembly may include a seal assembly engaged by a reciprocating piston, in which the seal assembly includes a minimal number of parts, is easily assembled, and can be easily inserted in the bore of the valve body without jeopardizing the integrity of the seals. The valve assembly may further include a quick-disconnect system which allows a “control head” including a valve actuation system and electronic controls to be disconnected from the rest of the valve arrangement with only a partial rotation of the control head. The valve assembly may also include a venturi used for drawing regeneration fluid into the system, and an associated venturi cleaner system which allows a user to unclog the fluid-flow orifice of the venturi without any disassembly of parts of the valve arrangement.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit under Title 35, U.S.C.Section 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/710,861, filed Oct. 8, 2012 and entitled WATER SOFTENER INJECTORCLEANER, the entire disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to fluid control valves and, moreparticularly, to fluid control valve arrangements for water treatmentequipment, such as ion exchange water softeners and media filters.

2. Description of the Related Art

Fluid control valves are generally used for water treatment systems,such as water softeners that remove certain minerals from the water asdelivered to the end user. Such minerals (e.g., calcium, magnesium,manganese and iron) contribute to what is commonly referred to as water“hardness.” Water softener systems may employ an ion exchange process tobond the minerals to other materials. Such ion exchange may be effectedby providing an ion exchange resin bed containing resin materialsdesigned to promote the ion exchange process. The resin bed is housed ina resin tank which is filled with some of the water from the watersource. As this water passes across the resin bed, ions of calcium andother positively charged ions are exchanged with ions held by the resin(typically sodium). Objectionable hardness minerals are thereby removedfrom the water and replaced with less objectionable ions from the resin.

Ion exchange resin capacity is gradually depleted as the ion exchangeprocess is repeated over time. Water treatment controls may be providedas part of a water softener system to periodically regenerate the resincontained in the resin tank. This regeneration can be accomplished, forexample, by the reversal of the above-described softening process. Thatis, the objectionable ions formerly bonded to the resin during the watersoftening process (such as calcium) are chemically replaced with lessobjectionable sodium or similar ions. In some systems, this reversal isaccomplished by passing a regenerant solution of sodium or potassiumchloride through the resin bed.

To effect distribution of the regenerant solution, a control valve maybe attached to the top of the resin tank. The control valve includes astructure for directing the flow of fluid to complete the regenerationprocess, such as a reciprocating piston, rotating disc or poppets. Theregeneration process controlled by the control valve may include anumber of steps, such as: i) a backwash cycle to remove turbidity fromthe resin bed; ii) a brine draw cycle to introduce the regenerant to theresin bed; iii) a rinse to eliminate chlorides in the finished water;and iv) a brine refill cycle to prepare a brine solution for the nextregeneration. During the time elapse during these various cycles, thecontrol valve may also provide an internal bypass to provide untreatedwater to the end user, so that water supply remains uninterrupted.

In addition to the application of a water softener as described above, afluid control valve can be used on various water filters. Control valvesused on water filter systems may, for example, be used to effect abackwash cycle to remove collected precipitated iron, or sediment fromfilter elements, or to replenish an oxidizer reservoir within the filtersystem with material for oxidation (e.g., potassium permanganate,chlorine or air).

Reciprocating piston type water treatment control valves generally havea seal arrangement contained within a cylindrical bore and surrounding apiston. In these types of arrangements, a motor may drive the pistonaxially to selectively connect particular inlet and outlet ports,thereby cycling the valve through various positions involved in theregeneration process. The piston moves to connect ports in variouscombinations, as the respective seals provide a water tight barrierbetween ports. The seal arrangement may be separate individual sealsarranged next to one another, or they may be joined together.

Seal arrangements usable with a water treatment control valve may bepre-compressed stacks. In some cases, this type of pre-compressed sealstack has the various individual seals and associated spacerstherebetween welded or screwed together.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,944 (“the '944 patent”) describes a seal assemblythat can be preassembled prior to insertion in the valve bore. Unlikethe seal designs including pre-compressed stacks of seal components, theseals of the '944 patent includes various seals that are not compresseduntil the assembly is fully inserted.

The resin bed of water treatment systems is often made up of a reservoirof salt. In order to prevent depletion of the salt reserves, somedevices indirectly monitor the salt level in the salt storage reservoirby using an electronic controller to calculates how much salt from thereservoir has been used based on the number of regenerations that haveoccurred and the amount of salt programmed to be used per regeneration.When the controller determines that the reservoir's salt reserves shouldbe depleted, an operator may be alerted to refill the reservoir and thenmanually reset the salt-level monitor to once again begin counting thenumber of regeneration cycles completed. Such manual resetting may beaccomplished, for example, by pushing a reset button when salt is addedor placing a float on top of the salt each time the salt is replenished.

Another previous idea is a paddle located in the salt tank that ispushed when in contact with salt. If salt level drops below the paddle acircuit is completed and a user is notified of the low level. In somecases, however, salt may engage the paddle at such an angle as to jamthe paddle and prevent actuation.

Yet another monitoring methodology measures the conductivity of thebrine solution and indicates the need for salt replenishment when theconductivity drops by a certain amount. In these systems, the monitormust be submerged in the corrosive brine solution. Indication of a lowsalt level (and therefore, of the need to replenish the salt reserves)will occur only after substantially all of the salt is consumed.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides valve arrangement including variousimprovements useable in the context of a fluid additive system, such asa water softener. For example, the valve assembly may include a sealassembly engaged by a reciprocating piston, in which the seal assemblyincludes a minimal number of parts, is easily assembled, and can beeasily inserted in the bore of the valve body without jeopardizing theintegrity of the seals. The valve assembly may further include aquick-disconnect system which allows a “control head” including a valveactuation system and electronic controls to be disconnected from therest of the valve arrangement with only a partial rotation of thecontrol head. The valve assembly may also include a venturi used fordrawing regeneration fluid into the system, and an associated venturicleaner system which allows a user to unclog the fluid-flow orifice ofthe venturi without any disassembly of parts of the valve arrangement.

Further, the valve assembly may include a regenerant substrate monitorwhich performs reliably to provide notice to the user of a low-substratecondition in the regenerant substrate reservoir. Finally, the valveassembly may include a speaker system connected to a control whichoperates to announce assembly and/or maintenance instructions to theuser upon demand.

In one form thereof, the present disclosure provides a seal assembly foruse in a multi-port valve, the seal assembly comprising: a first sealsubassembly structure including a first pair of flanges separated by afirst plurality of stanchions, the first seal subassembly structurehaving a first shoulder extending axially away from the one of the firstpair of flanges and a second shoulder extending axially away from theother of the first pair of flanges; an outer seal mounted to one of thefirst shoulder and the second shoulder, the outer seal having an outerseal surface disposed radially outwardly of the first pair of flanges; asecond seal subassembly structure including a second pair of flangesseparated by a second plurality of stanchions, the second sealsubassembly structure having a third shoulder extending axially awayfrom the one of the second pair of flanges and a fourth shoulderextending axially away from the other of the second pair of flanges; andan inner seal mounted to one of the third shoulder and the fourthshoulder, the inner seal extending radially inwardly of the second pairof flanges, one of the first and second shoulders axially fixed to oneof the third and fourth shoulders such that the first seal subassemblystructure is axially fixed to the second seal subassembly structure, theouter seal axially captured between one of the first pair of flanges andone of the second pair of flanges, and the inner seal axially capturedbetween one of the first pair of flanges and one of the second pair offlanges.

In another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a seal assemblyfor use in a multi-port valve, the seal assembly comprising: a firstseal subassembly including a first seal and a first spacer affixed to anaxial end of the first seal, the first spacer including a firstplurality of protrusions arranged around a periphery of the first spacerand extending axially away from the first seal; and a second sealsubassembly including a second seal and a second spacer affixed to anaxial end of the second seal, the second spacer including a secondplurality of the protrusions arranged around a periphery of the secondspacer and extending axially away from the first seal, the first andsecond pluralities of protrusions extending toward one another andinterfitted with the one another to affixed to the first spacer to thesecond spacer such that a plurality of flow apertures are formed betweenrespective neighboring pairs of the interfitted spacers, whereby thefirst seal and the second seal are disposed on opposing sides of theplurality of flow apertures.

In yet another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a seal foruse in a conical valve bore, the seal comprising: a body made of amonolithically formed single piece of conically shaped material, thebody having respective sets of flow apertures formed therein and spacedaxially from one another; a plurality of outer sealing surfaces disposedon an outer surface of the body between respective sets of the flowapertures, such that each neighboring pair of the outer sealing surfacesflanks each set of the flow apertures, the plurality of outer sealingsurfaces having progressively larger outside diameters; a plurality ofinner sealing surfaces disposed on an inner surface of the body, suchthat a neighboring pair of the inner sealing surfaces flanks each set offlow apertures, the plurality of inner sealing surfaces having a commondiameter adapted to engage a substantially cylindrical piston.

In yet another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a valvearrangement comprising: a venturi valve having a nozzle portion and athroat having a constricted flow area with respect to the nozzleportion; and a venturi cleaner assembly comprising: a base including amounting surface adapted to mount to the valve arrangement; and aplunger received in the base, the venturi cleaner assembly mounted inaxial alignment with the venturi valve, the plunger including adeblocking tip that is axially moveable to selectively protrude past themounting surface and into the throat of the venturi valve.

In still another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a watertreatment system comprising: a valve arrangement including a valvehousing, the valve housing comprising: a fluid inlet; a fluid outlet influid communication with the fluid inlet; a valve bore tube including avalve bore disposed between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, thevalve bore including at least one valve port adapted to redirect fluidflowing from the fluid inlet into contact with a water treatmentsubstrate and then to the fluid outlet; and one of a groove and aprotrusion formed on the valve bore tube, a substrate reservoir in fluidcommunication with the at least one valve port, the substrate reservoircontaining the water treatment substrate; a control head selectivelyaffixable to the valve arrangement such that the control head comprisesan assembled configuration and a disassembled configuration, the controlhead comprising: a back plate having a coupler attached thereto; apiston extending outwardly from the back plate, the piston sized to bereceived within the valve bore and axially moveable within the valvebore when the control head is in the assembled configuration; an pistonactuator operably connected to the piston such that the piston actuatorselectively axially moves the piston within the valve bore toselectively allow or restrict fluid flow from the fluid inlet to the atleast one valve port when the control head is in the assembledconfiguration; and the other of the groove and the protrusion formed onthe coupler, the protrusion is receivable within the groove androtatable through an arcuate path of the groove to affix the controlhead to the valve arrangement by less than one 360-degree turn of thecontrol head relative to the valve arrangement.

In yet another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a watertreatment system comprising: a valve arrangement including a valvehousing, the valve housing comprising: a fluid inlet; a fluid outlet influid communication with the fluid inlet; a valve bore tube including avalve bore disposed between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, thevalve bore including at least one valve port adapted to redirect fluidflowing from the fluid inlet into contact with a water treatmentsubstrate and then to the fluid outlet; a control head mounted to thevalve arrangement, the control head including a controller and at leastone valve receivable within the valve bore; a substrate reservoir influid communication with the at least one valve port, the substratereservoir containing the water treatment substrate; and an audioinstruction system mounted to the control head, the audio instructionsystem comprising: a speaker mounted to the control head and in operablecommunication with the controller; a plurality of control buttonsconnected to the controller, the buttons operable to play back andcontrol audio instructions stored on the controller through the speaker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention,and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and theinvention itself will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a valve arrangement made in accordancewith the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the valve arrangement shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the valve arrangement shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevation, cross-section view of the valve arrangementshown in FIG. 3, taken along the line IV-IV;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a seal arrangement assembly made inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, cross-section view of the seal arrangementof FIG. 5, taken along line VI-VI;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an end seal section of the sealarrangement of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a middle seal section of the sealarrangement of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9A is an enlarged elevation view of a portion of the sealarrangement shown in FIG. 6, illustrating a cross-sectional shape of anend seal section;

FIG. 9B is an enlarged elevation view of a portion of the sealarrangement shown in FIG. 6, illustrating a cross-sectional shape of anintermediate seal section;

FIG. 10A is a perspective, exploded view of another seal arrangementmade in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B is a side elevation view of the seal arrangement shown in FIG.10A, after assembly thereof;

FIG. 10C is a side elevation, cross-section view of the seal arrangementshown in FIG. 10A, after assembly thereof;

FIG. 10D is an enlarged elevation view of a portion of the sealarrangement shown in FIG. 10C;

FIG. 11 is an exploded, perspective view of an alternative valvearrangement using a tapered seal;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation, cross-section view of the valve arrangementshown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13A is a side elevation, cross-section view of an alternative sealarrangement made in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 13B, is a side elevation, cross-section view of another alternativeseal arrangement made in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a venturi cleaner assembly made inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is an exploded, perspective view of the venturi cleaner assemblyshown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the venturi cleaner assembly shown in FIG.14;

FIG. 17 is a cross-section side, elevation view of the venturi cleanerassembly shown in FIG. 14, taken along the line XVII-XVII of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18A is a perspective view of a quick-disconnect connection elementmade in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 18B is another perspective view of a quick-disconnect connectionelement made in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a side, elevation exploded view of a brine valve assembly;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a substrate monitor made in accordancewith the present disclosure; and

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an audio instruction system made inaccordance with the present disclosure.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. Although the exemplifications set outherein illustrate embodiments of the invention, in several forms, theembodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or to beconstrued as limiting the scope of the invention to the precise formsdisclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The following embodiments of the present invention are chosen anddescribed so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings.While the present disclosure is directed to a valve arrangement andother associated structures for a water softener system, it will beunderstood that the system may have applications to other scenarios andin other contexts. For example, in one alternative implementation, thesystems and methods disclosed herein may be utilized to provide a valvearrangement for a fluid filter, such as a home or industrial waterfilter. Moreover, while the exemplary embodiment described belowprovides a valve arrangement for controlling the functions of a watersoftener, it is contemplated that the valve arrangement may be appliedin any system where the throughput flow of fluid is selectively treatedwith a substrate material from a storage tank, and in which suchsubstrate material is periodically recharged from an external source.

Turning to FIG. 1, water softener system 30 includes valve arrangement32 in fluid communication with substrate reservoir 34 and operablyconnected to control head 36. Water softener system 30 is designed toalter the chemical composition of incoming water by an ion exchangeprocess, though it is also contemplated that similar systems may be usedfor media filters such as carbon filters, iron filters, sedimentfilters, and filters used to remove hydrogen sulfide gas. In theillustrated system, valve arrangement 32 includes fluid inlet 38 whichreceives a flow of fluid to be treated, and fluid outlet 40 whichdischarges a flow of treated fluid after such fluid has been operatedupon as described in further detail below.

Optionally, inlet 38 and outlet 40 may include shutoff valves 42, 44,respectively, which selectively permit or prevent the flow of fluid intoand out of valve arrangement 32. In the illustrated embodiment, shutoffvalves 42, 44 are attached as separate components to secondary inlet 39and secondary outlet 41, respectively (FIG. 2). Fluid is received atinlet 38 and flows through valve 42, through secondary inlet 39 and intovalve bore 46 (FIG. 4). Depending on the position of valve piston 48disposed within bore 46 (FIG. 2), annular recess 47 formed in piston 48aligns with one of the annular flow paths defined by ports 50, 52, 54,56 (FIG. 4) within valve bore 46 to allow fluid to flow therethrough.Depending on which of ports 50, 52, 54, 56 fluid is allowed to flowthrough, one of four fluid flow states is enabled: brine charge, watersoftening (i.e., normal operation), brine regeneration, backwash orrinse, all described in further detail below.

As described in further detail below, a seal assembly 60 is disposedbetween piston 48 and the adjacent wall of valve bore 46 to selectivelyseal ports 50, 52, 54, 56 from one another depending on the position ofpiston 48. Piston 48 is driven by an actuator contained within controlhead 36, such as motor 49 which operates arm 49A to axially advance orretract piston 48 into or out of valve bore 46. In an exemplaryembodiment, such advancement and retraction of piston 48 is controlledaccording to various inputs into controller 130 also contained withincontrol head 36, which may receive signals from other parts of thesystem or the user. Control head 36 is attached to valve arrangement 32by quick disconnect coupler 61, which engages protrusion 62 formed onvalve arrangement 32 as described in further detail below.

All incoming fluid received into valve bore 46 via inlet 38 passesthrough venturi cleaner assembly 64, which in turn creates a vacuumpressure operable to selectively draw brine solution from an externalreservoir into the fluid flow pathway via brine valve assembly 66. Brinevalve assembly 66 is selectively actuated to permit or prevent a flow ofbrine solution therethrough by actuation of valve stem 68, which isaxially advanced or retracted by motor 69 or another suitable linearactuator contained within control head 36. As described in detail below,venturi cleaner assembly 64 includes venturi plunger 70, which may beused to clear any blockages from minerals buildup or other solidmaterial within the flow restriction orifice created by the venturivalve 74.

During the brine regeneration cycle, piston 48 moves from the positionof FIG. 4, in which annular recess 47 is aligned with ports 52 and 54,axially downstream to align recess 47 with ports 54 and 56. Accordingly,fluid flows from inlet 38, then upwardly into venturi feeder passage 72and through venturi valve 74. During regeneration, valve stem 68 isactuated to allow brine solution to be drawn from a remote brine source(not shown) through brine inlet 76, through brine valve assembly 66 andinto the fluid stream flowing just downstream of venturi valve 74. Themixed fluid then flows downstream through the annular chamber accessedby port 50 around piston 48 and into substrate reservoir 34 via coupling78. As illustrated in FIG. 2, coupling 78 operates to attach adapter 80to valve arrangement 32, while coupling 78 is in turn threadablyreceived at the top of substrate reservoir 34. Tube assembly 82 isprovided to direct a flow of softened water from the bottom of reservoir34 into port 54, and then into annular recess 47 of piston 48 which isaligned with port 54 (FIG. 4). Annular recess 47 is also aligned withport 56, which is fluidly connected to outlet 40 and therefore allowsthe fluid flowing through annular recess 47 to discharge to outlet 40.

During the brine charge cycle, fluid flows as shown in FIG. 4. Moreparticularly, fluid flows from inlet 38 through central passageway 51 ofpiston 48, then into discharge port 56 and on to outlet 40, therebybypassing the water softening functionality of system 30 but providingconstant water service to the end user. Meanwhile, some of the waterflowing from inlet 38 is diverted through venturi valve 74, as describedabove with respect to the regeneration cycle, and flows through port 50,around piston 48, and into reservoir 34 via coupling 78. As this fluidis driven downwardly into reservoir 34, fluid is forced upwardly throughtube assembly 82, into port 54, and into annular recess 47 of piston 48.Annular recess 47 of piston 48 is aligned with both ports 54 and 52,such that the fluid in recess 47 flows outwardly into port 52 and isthen discharged at drain 53 (FIG. 2). Thus, in the brine charge cycle,brine is drawn through brine valve assembly 66 into reservoir 34, whileany existing fluid in reservoir 34 is discharged. Untreated water passesfrom inlet 38 to outlet 40 during this process.

During the water softening (i.e., regular service) cycle, piston 48moves from the position of FIG. 4, in which annular recess 47 is alignedwith ports 52 and 54, axially downstream to align recess 47 with ports54 and 56 (i.e., the same position as the brine regeneration cyclediscussed above). Accordingly, fluid flows from inlet 38, down intoreservoir 34 via port 50 (which is unblocked by any portion of piston48, and back upwardly through tube 82. Because annular recess 47 ofpiston 48 is aligned with both of ports 54 and 56, fluid flows from tube82 to into annular recess 47 via port 54 and then to outlet 40 via port56. Thus, the water softening arrangement of water softener 30 is thesame as the regeneration cycle described above, except that in the watersoftening position brine valve assembly 66 is closed so that brine isnot drawn into reservoir 34 by the vacuum created by venturi valve 74.

During the backwash cycle, piston 48 moves from the position of FIG. 4,in which annular recess 47 is aligned with ports 52 and 54, axiallyupstream to align recess 47 with ports 50 and 52. Accordingly, centralpassageway 51 is in fluid communication with both of ports 54 and 56.Fluid flowing from inlet 38 passes through central passageway 51 anddownwardly into reservoir 34 via tube 82 through port 54 (FIG. 4),rather than via coupling 78 as noted above in certain other cycles.Fluid also flows outwardly through port 56 to provide untreated fluid tooutlet 40. The fluid in reservoir 34 is forced upwardly out throughcoupling 78, which forces fluid into port 50 and annular recess 47. Thisfluid is discharged at drain 53 (FIG. 2) via port 52. Thus, in thiscycle fluid is passed through reservoir 34 in the reverse order that itnormally passes, which affords an opportunity to dislodge foreignmaterials lodged within the substrate contained at the bottom ofreservoir 34.

During the rinse cycle, annular recess 47 of piston 48 is aligned withports 52 and 54, as shown in FIG. 4, while brine valve assembly 66 is inthe closed position. Water flows from inlet 38 downwardly into reservoirvia port 50 and coupler 78, then back upwardly from reservoir 34 throughtube 82 and into annular recess 47 via port 54. Water is discharged fromrecess 47 through port 52, leading outwardly to drain 53 (FIG. 2).Meanwhile, water is also allowed to flow from inlet 38 to outlet 40 viacentral passageway 51 and port 56. Thus, this mode allows incominguntreated water to pass through reservoir 34 and directly to drain 53.

The operation and flexibility of water softener system 30 is enhancedand facilitated by various system improvements described in turn below,including the structure and arrangement of seal assembly 60, the use ofventuri cleaner assembly 64, and the connection and disconnection ofcontrol head 36 from valve arrangement 32 using quick release coupling61. Water softener system 30 may also optionally include a regenerantsubstrate monitor and audio instruction system.

1. Seal Assembly

Referring now to FIG. 5, seal assembly 60 includes a series of spacers178 which operate to space apart elastomeric seals 180 such that eachneighboring pair of seals 180 are separated by a predefined distance. Inthe gap between such neighboring pairs of seals 180, spacers 178 eachinclude a plurality of protrusions 182, 184 which interfit with oneanother to interlock adjacent pairs of spacers 178 together, asdescribed in further detail below. When so interlocked, flow apertures186 are formed between respective neighboring pairs of interfittedprotrusions and are sized and oriented to allow fluid flow through oneof the internal valve ports 50, 52, 54, 56. Thus, when seal assembly 60is received within valve bore 46 as shown in FIG. 4, seals 180 are eachsealingly interfitted with a portion of the wall of valve bore 46between a neighboring pair of valve ports 50, 52, 54, 56, while a set offlow apertures 186 between each neighboring pair of seals 180 align withthe valve port 50, 52, 54 or 56 between such pair of seals 180. Whenpiston 48 is aligned with one of valve ports 50, 52, 54, 56, fluid isallowed to flow through apertures 186 and around annular recess 47.Therefore all other ports 50, 52, 54, 56, seals 180 provide afluid-tight barrier so the fluid can only travel through the port 50,52, 54 or 56 not closed off by the piston. To change the active port 50,52, 54 or 56, piston 48 axially slides within bore 46 formed by seal 60to realign annular recess 47 with the desired port 50, 52, 54 or 56.

As noted above, seal assembly 60 facilitates insertion into and removalfrom valve bore 46 by being provided as a single, unitary unit. In theembodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, this unitary seal assembly is made byattaching one or more mid-section subassemblies 188 to one another, andto end section subassemblies 190. In the exemplary embodimentillustrated, end section subassembly 190 includes a single spacer 178having outer protrusions 182 and inner protrusions 184 extending axiallyoutwardly (i.e., away from seal 180) at regular, alternating locationsaround the periphery of spacer 178. In the illustrated exemplaryembodiment, six total protrusions 182, 184 are provided (three each ofprotrusions 182 and 184, alternating with one another as shown). Spacer178 is affixed to seal 180 by any suitable method, such as a mechanicalpinching of the material of seal 180 by spacer 178, an adhesive bondjoining seal 180 and spacer 178, or an over molding of seal 180 uponspacer 178. One method of over-molding spacers 178 to seals 180 is tofirst mold spacers 178 out of a plastic material capable of withstandingvery high temperatures, such as polyphthalamide. Seals 180 can then bemolded directly onto spacers 178 without losing the structural shape andrigidity of spacers 178.

Similarly, mid-section subassembly 188 includes two spacers 178 flankingeach axial end of seal 180. To connect mid-section subassembly 188 withend-section subassembly 190, respective outer protrusions 182 on one ofsubassemblies 188, 190 are aligned with inner protrusions 184 on theother of subassemblies 188, 190. The aligned protrusions 182, 184 arethen interfitted with one another to affix mid-section subassembly 188to end section subassembly 190. This affixation may be accomplished byadhesives, a solvent weld, a sonic weld or a heat weld, or by snap-fitstructures. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, bulb 192 (FIGS.7 and 8) formed on each outer protrusion 182 may have an expanding outerprofile that lockingly interfits with a correspondingly contractinginner profile of recess 194 formed in each inner protrusion 184. Spacers178 are fixed to seal 180 by one or more of the methods described abovewith respect to end section subassembly 190.

Attachment of two adjacent mid-section subassemblies 188 is accomplishedin the same manner, such that any number of mid-section subassemblies188 can be modularly attached to one another to create seal assembly 60having as many seals 180 and corresponding sets of flow apertures 186 asdesired, with end section subassemblies 190 interfitted at each axialend of seal assembly 60. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6,four mid-section subassemblies 188 are interposed between two endsection subassemblies 190 to create five sets of flow apertures 186useable with a set of five flow chambers in a valve body. By contrast,the embodiment of FIG. 4 shows three mid-section subassemblies 188interposed between two end section subassemblies 190 to create four setsof flow apertures 186 for ports 50, 52, 54, 56.

Turning to FIGS. 9A and 9B, a profile of seal 180 itself is shown withrespect to end and mid-section subassemblies 190, 188 respectively. Asillustrated, seal 180 includes a convex radial outer surface 196 whichstands proud of the adjacent radial outer surface(s) of spacer(s) 178.This allows outer surface 196 to sealingly engage the inner surface ofvalve bore 46. Inner seal portion 198 is a dual-lobe arrangementprotruding radially inwardly to position inner seal portion 198 tocontact the outer surface of piston 48 as shown in FIG. 4.

Seal assembly 60 can be axially stretched to reduce the diameter ofseals 180 before it is inserted in the bore of the control valve, thencompressed after insertion to increase the diameter of seals 180 andprovide a firm fluid-tight seal. Stretching is accomplished by pullingend section subassemblies 190 away from one another, thereby urging allspacers 178 away from one another. This, in turn, creates an axial pullforce upon seals 180 which draws outer surface 196 inwardly slightly,thereby allowing seal assembly 60 to pass into valve bore 46 and overports 50, 52, 54, 56 with little or no interference.

Compressing is accomplished by axially advancing end sectionsubassemblies 190 toward one another. The profile of spacers 178, at thelocation where seal 180 attaches to spacer 178, primarily engages theaxial end surfaces of seals 180 and thereby “squeezes” seal 180 andforces outer surface 196 to expand outward. Ridges 200 create a lessercontact area with inner seal portion 198, such that the “squeezing”action created by compression of spacers 178 toward one another createsa lesser inward expansion of seal portion 198 compared to the greateroutward expansion of outer surface 196. Once seal assembly 60 is inplaced in valve bore 46, it can be compressed by exerting pressure onthe stack of seals 180 and spacers 178. This pressure expands seals 180both outward and inward, with the outward expansion providing a sealagainst bore 46 and inward providing a sealing contact with piston 48.For removal after installation (e.g., for service or replacement), sealassembly 60 is decompressed by pulling on end section subassembly 190,facilitating removal of the stack of seals 180 and spacers 178 withminimal resistance. This is because outer surface 196 of seals 180 areserially and sequentially contracted and allowed to break loose of theinner surface of valve bore 46, as each successive mid-sectionsubassembly 188 receives a pull force after the adjacent seal 180 ispulled.

Turning now to FIGS. 10A-10D, an exploded view of an alternative sealassembly 60A is shown. Seal 60A is similar to seal 60 shown in FIGS. 5and 6 and described above, and structures of seal 60A have correspondingreference numerals to seal 60, except with an “A” appended thereto.However, seal 60A has an alternative structural arrangement which allowsseal 60A to be securely assembled from constituent parts withoutadhesives (though adhesives may be used, as described further below).

Referring now to FIG. 10A, seal assembly 60A includes a plurality ofsubassembly structures 188A having outer seal 180A and inner seal 198Areceived thereupon as described in further detail below. Eachsubassembly structure 188A includes a pair of flanges 178A axiallyspaced from one another and interconnected via a plurality of stanchions182A. Flow apertures 186A are defined between neighboring pairs ofstanchions 182A, are formed for a flow of fluid therethrough, in similarfashion to flow apertures 186 described in detail above. Extendingaxially outwardly from one of flanges 178A is shoulder 184A, whichincludes at least one (or, as illustrated, 2) protrusion 192A extendingradially outwardly therefrom. Extending in an opposite direction, thatis, axially outwardly from the other flange 178A, is shoulder 184A′including track 194A. In an exemplary embodiment, flanges 178A,stanchions 182A, and shoulders 184A, 184A′ are monolithically formed asa single part, such as by injection molding. In a further exemplaryembodiment, subassembly structures 188A are identical such that anynumber of structures 188A can be used to create subassembly 60A (see,e.g., FIGS. 10B and 10C).

Interconnection between a respective pair of subassembly structures 188Ais shown in FIG. 10B. As illustrated, shoulder 184A has a relativelysmaller outer diameter as compared to shoulder 184A′, such that shoulder184A may be axially received within shoulder 184A′. Track 194A ofshoulder 184A′ extends initially axially inwardly into the material ofshoulder 184A′, and then turns to extend circumferentially around aportion of shoulder 184A′, terminating in expanded end aperture 195A.Upon assembly, protrusion 192A is received within track 194A assubassembly structures 188A are axially advanced one another. Afterprotrusion 192A reaches the end of the axial portion of track 194A,subassembly structures 188A are twisted to advance protrusion 192Athrough the circumferentially extending portion of track 194A and intoexpanded end aperture 195A, as shown in FIG. 10B.

Expanded end aperture 195A allows protrusion 192A to move into one oftwo seated positions, shown in solid and dashed lines, respectively, inFIG. 10B. If the neighboring pair of subassembly structures 188A areurged axially apart from one another, protrusion 192A moves into thesolid-line seated position shown in FIG. 10B. Conversely, if subassemblystructures 188A are pushed together, protrusion 192A moves into thedashed-line seated position. When in either seated position, a twistingor rotational motion between the joined subassembly structures 188A isprevented because protrusion is no longer aligned with thecircumferentially extending portion of track 194A.

FIG. 10C illustrates a larger seal assembly 60A including a plurality ofsubassembly structures 188A and associated outer and inner seals 180A,198A, mounted thereto. As best seen in FIG. 10C, outer seals 180A arereceived upon shoulder 184A′ and axially captured between respectiveflanges 178A when subassembly structures 188A are connected as describedabove. Similarly, inner seals 198A are axially captured between flanges178A and are received upon (e.g., radially abut) shoulder 184A. Seals180A and 198A are sized to extend radially outwardly past the radialextent of flanges 178A, such that outer surface 196A is proud of theadjacent surfaces of flanges 178A. Similarly, inner seal surface 199Aextends radially inwardly past the adjacent surfaces of flanges 178A.

In an exemplary embodiment, seals 180A and 198A share a common axialspace (i.e., seal 180A is directly radially outward of seal 198A as bestseen in FIG. 10D), and have an axial extent sufficient to resilientlydeform and urge flanges 178A apart from one another when respectiveneighboring pairs of subassembly structures 188A are assembled as shownin FIG. 10B. Therefore, one or both of seals 180A and 198A urgeprotrusion 192A into the illustrated solid-line seated position shown inFIG. 10B, within expanded end aperture 195A of track 194A. Thus,providing seals 180A and 198A between neighboring pairs of subassemblystructures 188A serves to maintain the structures 188A in a lockedcondition during service of seal 60A.

It is contemplated that seal 60A may be used in valve bore 46 of valvearrangement 32, in the same manner as seal 60 as described in detailabove. Alternatively, seal 60A may have a tapered outer profile for usein a tapered valve bore 446 of valve arrangement 432, similar to thetapered seal arrangements shown in FIGS. 11-13B and further describedbelow.

Advantageously, seal assemblies 60, 60A include a minimal number ofindividual parts and can be rapidly assembled from its constituentsubassemblies 188 and 190 or 188A.

Turning now to FIGS. 11 and 12, an alternative seal 460 is shown as anexploded view together with alternative valve arrangement 432. Seal 460is similar to seal 60 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and described above, andstructures of seal 460 have corresponding reference numerals to seal 60,except with 400 added thereto. However, seal 460 is a conically-shapedstructure, which may be monolithically formed as a single part, andwhose outside diameter grows progressively larger from one end to theother. Valve arrangement 432 has a correspondingly frusto-conical valvebore 446, as shown in FIG. 12, which interfits with seal 460 to providea fluid-tight seal between valve ports 450, 452, 454, 456, as furtherdescribed below. In addition, piston 448 may be provided with externalseals 481 received in correspondingly formed grooves flanking eitheraxial end of annular recess 447, rather than providing inner sealportions 198 of seals.

Valve arrangement 432 includes inlet 439 and outlet 441, and operates todistribute fluid flowing into inlet 439 selectively to outlet 441,reservoir 34, and drain 453 in similar fashion to valve arrangement 32shown in FIGS. 1-3 and described in detail above. However, valve bore446 includes valve seats between the respective ports 450, 452, 454, and456 which define a conical seating area corresponding to the conicalarrangement of valve sealing portion 482 of seal assembly 460. Thus,both valve bore 446 and valve sealing portion 482 of seal 60 definetaper angle θ, which in an exemplary embodiment may be as little as0.25° or as much as 3°, such as about 1.5° in certain exemplaryembodiments. Seal assembly 460 is received in valve bore 446 asillustrated in FIG. 12, valve sealing portion 482 is securely seatedagainst bore 446, such that the portions of valve sealing portionbetween respective annularly arranged sets of flow apertures 486 formouter sealing surfaces between respective neighboring ports 450, 452,454, 456. Due to the conical shape of the outer surface of sealingportion 482, each respective sealing surface defines a larger diameteras the surfaces progress away from the terminal axial end of sealingportion 482. At the same time, seal seating portion 484 of seal 460 isreceived within a correspondingly cylindrically shaped portion of bore446.

Referring back to FIG. 11, an exemplary embodiment of seal 460 includestool slots 485 formed around an inner periphery of seal seating portion484 near an axial end of seal 460. At the outer surface of seal seatingportion 484, one or more (e.g., such as two as shown) dislodging cams487 may be provided to align with and be received within indentationsformed by cam surfaces 489 formed in the axial end wall of valve boretube 540. To install seal assembly 460 into valve bore 446, seal 460 issimply axially inserted into valve bore 446 and pushed until dislodgingcams 487 seat within the indentation of cam surfaces 489. In thisposition, the outer surface of valve sealing portion 482 is securelyurged into a fluidly sealed contact with the adjacent conical innersurface of valve bore 446 between ports 450, 452, 454, 456.

To remove seal 460 from valve 446, seal 460 is axially withdrawn fromvalve bore tube 540. In order to facilitate this axial withdrawal anddislodge the fluid type seating of valve sealing portion 482 from valvebore 446, a splined tool sized and shaped to fit tool slots 485 may beinserted therein, and torque may be applied to seal 460 via the tool torotate dislodging cams 487 into contact with respective ramped camsurfaces 489 formed in valve bore tube 540, which in turn urges seal 460axially outwardly. Once the sealing engagement between valve sealingportion 482 and valve 446 is broken, seal 460 may be easily axiallywithdrawn from valve bore tube 540.

Unlike seal assembly 60 shown in FIG. 5 and described in detail above,seal 460 does not include any separate seals disposed at the inner borethereof. Instead, seals 481, which may be o-rings, are received withincorrespondingly formed grooves formed in piston 448 as illustrated inFIGS. 11 and 12. Seals 481 form fluid tight seal with the inner sealingsurfaces formed between respective annular sets of fluid apertures. Moreparticularly, valve sealing portion 482 has a cylindrical inner surface,such that when piston 448 is positioned so that seals 481 arerespectively disposed between sets of annularly arranged apertures 486,fluid is prevented from flowing past seals 481 either into or out ofannular recess 447, except through the aligned ports 450, 452, 454, or456, as described in detail above with respect to piston 48.

Turning now to FIG. 13A, an alternative seal assembly 260 is shown insection. Seal 260 is similar to seal 60 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 anddescribed above, and structures of seal 260 have corresponding referencenumerals to seal 60, except with 200 added thereto. However, seal 260provides a cone shaped stack of seals 280A-280F and spacers 278A-278J tocreate a unitary, one-piece assembly 260 whose outside diameter growsprogressively larger from one end to the other, rather than theconstant-outer-diameter seal assembly 60 which has a constant outsidediameter for use in a substantially cylindrical valve bore 46.

Similar to seal 60, inner seal portions 198 form a substantiallycylindrical inner profile adapted to sealingly engage piston 48 asdescribed above with respect to seal 60. Outer surfaces 196 of seals280A-280F, on the other hand, define progressively larger outerdiameters as illustrated, such that seal assembly 260 defines agenerally conical outer shape which allows assembly 260 to be insertedinto a correspondingly cone shaped bore 446 of valve arrangement 432without resistance until it reaches the final few millimeters to axialtravel. Thus, similar to seal 460, outer surfaces 196 cooperate todefine taper angle Θ, which may be between 0.25 degrees and 3 degrees asnoted above. This allows seal assembly 260 to be inserted into theconical valve bore without undue stresses on any of seals 280A-280Fsince the seals will pass the adjacent valve ports with no contact.

The inner portion of each of spacers 278A-278J are the same as spacers178, with respectively interfitting and interlocking outer and innerprotrusions 182, 184 cooperating to define flow apertures 186.

During some installations, only one seal 280A-280F will engage the valvebore at a time as seal assembly 260 is inserted therein. Spacing ofseals 280A-280F and adjacent ports of the valve bore can be such thatseal 280A with the smallest diameter is engaged by the valve bore first,then compression of seal 280A causes axial translation of the nextsmallest seal 280B which then touches the valve bore. Compression ofseal 280B then allows the larger diameter seal 280C to engage, and so onuntil all seals 280A-280J are engaged. This allows insertion and removalof the seal assembly 260 with little force and minimal risk to theintegrity of seals 280A-280J.

Turning now to FIG. 13B, yet another alternative embodiment of a sealassembly 360 is shown in section. Like seal 260, seal 360 is similar toseal 60 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and described above, and structures ofseal 360 have corresponding reference numerals to seal 60, except with300 added thereto. However, seal 360 is also cone-shaped but replacesspacers 278A-278J with a single, unitary body 378 made of amonolithically formed single piece of material, such as plastic ormetal. Outer seals 380A-380F define progressively larger outsidediameters and are inset into the material of body 378, while a separateset of inner seals 381 sharing a common inner diameter are provided atthe inner bore to engage with piston 48. Thus, similar to seal 460,outer seals 380A-380F cooperate to define taper angle Θ, which may bebetween 0.25 degrees and 3 degrees as noted above.

Seal assembly provides sets of flow apertures 186, axially spaced fromone another at regular intervals for fluid flow through the various setsof flow apertures 186 from valve ports (e.g., ports similar to ports 50,52, 54, 56 described above except in a cone-shaped valve bore).Neighboring pairs of seals 380A-380F and 381 flank each one of the setsof flow apertures 186, as illustrated in FIG. 13B.

Seals 380A-380J and 381 can be an integral part of body 378, can beover-molded thereto, or can be formed from o-rings fitted intocorrespondingly formed in recessed grooves formed in body 378 as shown.As an alternative to inner seals 381, correspondingly formed seals maybe attached to piston 48 within grooves, as over-molded elastomericmaterial, or as seal ring subassemblies gripped between sections of thepiston that are be threaded together.

Seal assembly 360 allows easy assembly and minimizes seal damage duringinsertion and extraction in a cone shaped valve bore. The cone shapedsleeve can be easily inserted into a cone shaped valve body withoutresistance until fully inserted, similar to cone-shaped seal assembly260 described above.

The seal assemblies described above can be inserted all at once, ratherthan by installing a single seal and/or spacer at a time into a valvebore. No special tools are required for seal assemblies 60, 260 or 360,but rather can simply be installed by hand into the corresponding valvebore. Individual seals and spacers cannot fall out of correspondingvalve bores or shift individually within the bores.

The seal assemblies described above can also protect the sealsthemselves from damage upon installation and removal, as noted above. Byproviding such protection, the function and longevity of the seal/valvearrangement is enhanced while maintaining the potential for tightseal/valve bore tolerances while ensuring full engagement andcompression during sealing for a liquid-tight seal that is not tootight. Thus, the seals are compressed enough to properly engage thecylindrical bore while being prevented from over-compression that mightotherwise complicate insertion into the corresponding valve bore.

2. Venturi Valve Cleaner

As noted above, water softener system 30 includes venturi cleanerassembly 64, illustrated in detail in FIGS. 14-17. Venturi cleanerassembly 64 is disposed above and in fluid communication with venturivalve 74, as shown in FIG. 4, which provides suction during fluid flowtherethrough to draw/educt a fluid (e.g., regenerant, sanitizer, orchemical cleaner) into the system via brine valve assembly 66, as shownin FIG. 4. Although brine is a common regenerant that may be used inwater softener systems such as water softener 30, other regenerants suchas chlorine or potassium permanganate solution may also be used.

Suction is created when water is passed through venturi valve 74, whichincludes inlet nozzle 86 and outlet constriction or throat 88. Theconnection point for brine valve assembly 66 intersects the fluid flowpath between nozzle 86 and throat 88, such that the low pressure createdby venturi valve 74 draws regenerant through brine valve assembly 66 andinto valve arrangement 32. However, throat 88 of venturi valve 74 maycollect solid material from the fluid flowing through valve 74, such asiron, manganese, particulates leading to turbidity, and othercontaminants, and may eventually become plugged with such material,thereby preventing flow through valve 74. Without such fluid flow, watersoftener 30 may be rendered inoperable until the deposit is removed fromvalve 74.

Venturi cleaner assembly 64 is mounted above venturi valve 74, andincludes venturi plunger 70 axially aligned with venturi valve 74.Venturi plunger 70 may be manually or motor driven downwardly so thatdeblocking tip 84 is selectively axially advanced to protrude below amounting surface of base 90, through nozzle 86 and into throat 88 asneeded to prevent a buildup of contaminants from plugging throat 88 ofventuri, or to dislodge any debris that may already have caused suchplugging. Turning to FIG. 14, venturi cleaner assembly 64 includes base90 adapted to mount to valve arrangement 32, and including an upwardlyextending stanchion 92 which receives and guides plunger 70 along itsaxial path. Sleeve 94 is positioned over stanchion 92, as best shown inFIGS. 15 and 17, and provides further guidance and radial constraint forplunger 70. Sleeve 94 also provides shoulder 96 upon which compressionspring 98 rests. Spring 98 extends axially upwardly from shoulder 96,coiling around plunger 70 and abutting shoulder 102 of handle 100.

As shown best in FIG. 17, upward travel of plunger 70 is limited by snapring 104, which is axially fixed within a corresponding groove 106 andabuts an upper surface of stanchion 92 as shown. An upper snap ring 108is also contained within groove 110 to provide a bearing surface againstwhich handle 100 urges plunger 70 downwardly against the biasing forceof spring 98 when handle 100 is depressed by the user of venturi cleanerassembly 64, as further described below.

The distal portion of plunger 70 includes tapered end 112 spanning theaxial distance between the substantially cylindrical shaft of plunger 70and the substantially cylindrical but smaller-diameter deblocking tip84. The cylindrical shaft of plunger 70 above tapered end 112 engagesgasket 114, which creates a fluid-tight seal between plunger 70,stanchion 92 and sleeve 94 to prevent any fluid contained within cavity116 of stanchion 92 from leaking outwardly through venturi cleanerassembly 64. Similarly, a lower gasket 118 is provided between base 90and the adjacent mounting surface on valve arrangement 32 to prevent anyleakage at the junction therebetween. Central aperture 120 (FIG. 15) isprovided in gasket 118 to allow plunger 70 to protrude therethroughduring actuation, while mounting apertures 122 align withcorrespondingly formed mounting apertures 124 in base 90 to receivefasteners for mounting venturi cleaner assembly 64 to valve arrangement32 (as shown in FIG. 1).

In use, handle 100 is depressed against the biasing force of spring 98so that deblocking tip 84 is moved axially downwardly and into theconstricted bore defined by throat 88 of venturi valve 74, as shown inFIG. 4. In an exemplary embodiment, deblocking tip 84 is sized justslightly smaller than the size of the bore in throat 88, such that anydeposited solid materials on the walls of throat 88 are dislodged andscraped away by deblocking tip 84. In an exemplary embodiment, the totalclearance between deblocking tip 84 and throat 88 is between −0.02 mm(that is to say, an interference fit between deblocking tip 84 andthroat 88) and 0.05 mm. In one particular exemplary embodiment, suchclearance is about 0.02 mm. When pressure on handle 100 is released,plunger 70 advanced upwardly to its disengaged position under thebiasing force of spring 98, which in turn withdraws deblocking tip 84from throat 88. Fluid flowing through venturi valve 74 is then allowedto flush away any dislodged solid material downstream.

Thus, providing venturi cleaner assembly 64 as part of water softener 30allows a user to free venturi valve 74 of precipitated iron,particulates leading to turbidity or other contaminants by simplypushing plunger 70 downwardly such that deblocking tip traverses nozzle86 and throat 88 of venturi valve 74. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIGS. 4 and 14-17, plunger 70 is manually pushed as described above.However, it is also contemplated that an automated system may beemployed to actuate plunger 70, such as a motor or linear actuator.Whether manually or automatically actuated, venturi cleaner assembly 64may be operated to clean venturi valve 74 on a regular basis, therebypreventing any clogging of throat 88 and ensuring consistent reliablefunctioning of water softener system 30.

Further, venturi cleaner assembly 64 can be permanently installed as afixture of water softener system 30. Rather than taking water softenersystem 30 out of service and disassembling a portion of system 30 toclean venturi valve 74, venturi cleaner assembly 64 is always availableto clean and maintain the fluid flow through valve 74. This avoids anyneed for a technician to perform traditional cleaning techniques such assoaking a disassembled venturi valve 74 in a cleaning solution, runninga stiff wire through nozzle 86 and throat 88, scrubbing with a brush, orreplacing venturi valve 74.

3. Quick-Release Control Mechanism

Access to valve bore 46, including seal assembly 60 and valve ports 50,52, 54, 56, is sometimes required for maintenance and repair. To gainsuch access, control head 36 is removed and piston 48 withdrawn fromvalve bore 46.

Water softener 30 includes a quick-disconnect fastening design forattaching and detaching control head 36 from valve arrangement 32.Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2, control head 36 includes back plate 126 towhich the components within housing 128 are mounted (including motors 49and 69, and controller 130). Because the functioning of valvearrangement 32 is sensitive to the position of piston 48 relative tovalve ports 50, 52, 54, 56, control head 36 attaches to valvearrangement 32 in a precise, repeatable way that ensures a desiredrelative positioning between piston 48 and the surrounding structures.

To facilitate ease of assembly and disassembly of control head 36 tovalve arrangement 32, quick-release coupling 61 is provided (FIGS. 18Aand 18B). Coupling 61 includes threaded bores 132 extending intomounting surface 134, such that mounting surface 134 can be brought intoabutting contact with back plate 126 and fasteners can be fed intothreaded bores 132 to affix coupling 61 to plate 126. Central bore 136passes through coupling 132, and allows actuator rod 129 of piston 48 topass therethrough to operably connect piston 48 to motor 49 as shown inFIG. 4.

As best seen in FIG. 2, piston 48 protrudes axially outwardly fromreceiver bore 138 formed in coupling 61 while also being spaced radiallyinwardly therefrom to form an annular gap between and inner wall ofreceiver bore 138 and the adjacent outer wall of piston 48. This annulargap is sized to receive valve bore tube 140 to couple control head 36 tovalve arrangement 32. More particularly, coupler 61 includes a pair ofarcuate grooves 142 (FIG. 18B) formed on the inner surface of receiverbore 138. Grooves 142 are sized and configured to receive protrusions 62formed on the outer surface of valve bore tube 140. Upon assembly,insertion portions 144 of grooves 142 are aligned with protrusions 62,then control head 36 is advanced so that valve bore tube 140 is receivedinto receiver bore 138. When protrusions 62 are fully received intoinsertion portions 144, control head 36 is rotated about one quarterturn, which advances protrusions 62 through grooves 142 and into detentareas 146 at the end of each of grooves 142. It is also contemplated,however, that the arcuate extent (i.e., length) of grooves 142 could beextended in order to provide for a greater rotation of control head 36between the initially-engaged and fully-received states. In some cases,this greater rotation may be up to one full 360-degree turn of controlhead 36 relative to valve arrangement 32.

To inhibit loosening of control head 36 from the fully installedconfiguration, detent areas 146 are provided at the arcuate ends ofgrooves 142 (i.e., opposite insertion portions 144). Detent areas allowsome radial expansion of compressed material of and around protrusions62 to provide a “locked” configuration. The tolerances of grooves 142relative to valve bore tube 140 and protrusions 62 causes enoughmaterial deformation during assembly that a considerable, deliberateforce is needed to rotate control head 36 back out of detent areas 146.

The attachment mechanism provided by coupling 62 and valve bore tube 140allows securement of control head 36 to the valve arrangement 32 withoutthe use of tools, while also facilitating a firm and reliable fixationwhen connected. Further, connection and disconnection of control head 36and valve arrangement 32 can be accomplished quickly with only aboutone-quarter.

Although the male portion (i.e., valve bore tube 140) of the connectionmechanism is shown as being a part of valve arrangement 32 and thecorresponding female portion (i.e., receiver bore 138) is part ofcoupler 61 attached to control head 36, it is contemplated that thisarrangement can be reversed while achieving a similar effect. That is,grooves 142 can be formed on a structure attached to valve arrangement32, and protrusions 62 can be formed on control head 36.

In the illustrated embodiment, brine valve assembly 66 is also attachedto both control head 36 and valve arrangement 32. In order to facilitatedisconnection of control head 36, brine valve assembly is also designedto be quickly and easily disengaged. Turning to FIG. 19, brine valveassembly 66 includes control-side components 148 and system-sidecomponents 150, which are selectively interconnectable and detachable asdescribed in detail below.

Control-side components include brine valve stem 68, which is receivedwithin brine inlet housing 152 as shown in FIG. 4. Valve stem 68 isbiased into an engaged (i.e., fluid-blocking) state by spring 154, whichdraws valve gasket 156 into a valve seat formed in housing 152. Spring154 is itself captured between C-ring 158, attached to a correspondinggroove 160 formed in valve stem 68, and gasket 162 which isolates spring154 and the other components within control head 36 from fluid flowingthrough brine valve assembly 66. Additional components 164 providing acollet-type liquid-tight seal for a tube to connect to inlet 76 are alsoprovided as shown in FIG. 19. Housing 152 includes threaded portion 172for connecting to system-side components 150 as described below, andanother threaded portion 174 adapted to threadingly receive nut 176 toconnect housing 152 to control head 36 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

System-side components include female threaded connector 168, which isslidably and rotatably engaged with tube 166. Sealing collet 170 isdisposed at the end of tube 166, and is sized to be received andselectively expanded within the bore formed in male threaded portion 172of brine inlet housing 152.

When control head 36 is fully affixed to valve arrangement 32 as shownin FIG. 1 and described in detail above, control-side and system-sidecomponents 148, 150 are axially aligned. Threaded connector 168 can thenbe threadably received upon male threaded portion 172 of housing 152. Asthreaded connector is tightened, collet 170 expands to sealingly couplethe fluid conduit within tube 166 and the adjacent fluid conduit withinhousing 152. Disconnection can be effected by simply unthreadingconnector 168.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, gasket 156 of valve stem 68 is disposed withinhousing 152 between the flow path of inlet 76 and the flow path leadingto threaded portion 172 and on to valve arrangement 32 (whencontrol-side and system-side components 148, 150 are connected). Thus,any fluid pressure within inlet 76 need not be relieved beforedisconnecting control head 36 from valve arrangement 32; rather, valvestem 68 can simply be allowed to be biased to its closed configurationby spring 154, thereby sealing any pressurized fluid in housing 152between gaskets 156 and 162. Control head 36 can then be disconnected,service performed, and reconnected before reopening valve stem 68 toallow brine to flow through brine valve assembly 66.

4. Regenerant Substrate Monitor

Ion exchange water softeners, such as water softener 30, may requireregeneration periodically with salt brine. Sodium chloride or potassiumchloride in pellet or rock form may be stored in substrate reservoir 34,which may be a plastic or fiber glass vessel in some exemplaryembodiments. Water is added to reservoir 34 during one of the cyclesprovided by ports 50, 52, 54, 56 of valve arrangement 32 cooperatingwith piston 48 as described above. Each time water softener 30regenerates salt is consumed from reservoir 34. The amount used duringeach regeneration cycle varies by the relative size of water softener 30and elective programming.

As shown in FIG. 20, substrate reservoir 34 of water softener 30 mayoptionally include a pressure actuated switch or button 202 housed in awaterproof enclosure 204. Button 202 has a domed, convex outer shape inthe form of a “pillow” and is located at or near the bottom of the sidewall of substrate reservoir 34. This domed shape allows button 202 to bedepressed, and therefore actuated, when pushed from any angle. Thus,salt or other substrate that is not engaging the entirety of button 202,such as only on the bottom half or third of button 202, will still actto depress button 202 against the spring bias which urges button 202into the non-actuated position. When the salt drops entirely or almostentirely below the domed outer surface of button 202, the spring isallowed to push button outwardly and a circuit is completed. Thiscircuit sends a signal to controller 206, which in turn may beprogrammed to activate an indicator (e.g., a light or audible alarm)which may be mounted to wireless remote, on control head 36 or valvearrangement 32, or any other suitable location where a user will bealerted to refill substrate reservoir 34. In an exemplary embodiment,button 202 is mounted far enough above the bottom surface 208 ofreservoir 34 to allow operation of water softener 30 for a period oftime after controller 206 activates the alert, so that a user will havesufficient time to refill before interruption of the supply of substrateoccurs.

Provision of a domed button 202, which reliably alerts when the salt orsubstrate in reservoir 34 is low, ensures that such substrate willremain continuously available to water softener 30 by urging users torefill reservoir 34 when necessary. This continuous availability, inturn, ensures proper regeneration of the brine and proper softening ofthe water passing through valve arrangement 32. This properly softenedwater protects steam boilers and other water using equipment, and inother applications where water quality is or particular importance suchas hospitals, laundries, car washes, window manufactures, nursing homes,pretreatment for reverse osmosis membranes, commercial dishwashers, etc.

5. Integral Audio Instruction System

Turning now to FIG. 21, water softener 30 may include an audioinstruction system to provide a user with instruction on theinstallation, use and/or maintenance of water softener 30. In anexemplary embodiment, speaker 210 is provided within control head 36,which in turn may be connected to control 206 (FIG. 20) contained withincontrol head 36 or mounted externally. A set of control buttons208A-208E in the control valve may also be connected to controller 206,and provide signals to prompt controller 206 to play instructionsthrough speaker 210, pause or stop instructions, fast-forward or rewindinstructions, for example. Control 206 may be separate from, or a partof, controller 130 discussed above.

Such instructions may also be automatically provided to the user uponinstallation, such as by providing a reset switch connected tocontroller 206 that is activated when control head 36 is first installedupon valve arrangement 32 (as described in detail above).

Water treatment device 30 may also be equipped with an electronic timingdevice consisting of a circuit board with display screen operablyconnected to push buttons 208A-208E. During the start-up of watertreatment device 30 buttons 208A-208E can be pushed to set the time ofday and various other system functions. Speaker 210, which may be apiezo type speaker, may be wired to controller 206 to automaticallyinitiate an audio script during the normal start-up procedure that liststhe most important information required for a proper installation. Ifthe installer wants to repeat the list he can manually press the rewindbutton 208A to re-initiate the instructions.

The audio system of the present disclosure facilitates correctinstallation of water softener 30 or other water treatment equipment byusers lacking otherwise required knowledge that may be out of the normalrange of the typical installer. In addition, the audio instructionsystem alleviates the potential consequences of written instillationinstructions that are not read, while being less time consuming thanvideo instructions. This protects the function and integrity of watersoftener 30 and protects the safety of the user.

Water softener 30 may include any or all of the above-described featuresand systems to enhance functionality, efficiency and usability.

While this invention has been described as having a preferred design,the present invention can be further modified within the spirit andscope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended tocover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using itsgeneral principles. Further, this application is intended to cover suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fallwithin the limits of the appended claims.

1-27. (canceled)
 28. A valve arrangement comprising: a venturi valvehaving a nozzle portion and a throat having a constricted flow area withrespect to said nozzle portion; and a venturi cleaner assemblycomprising: a base including a mounting surface adapted to mount to thevalve arrangement; and a plunger received in said base, said venturicleaner assembly mounted in axial alignment with said venturi valve,said plunger including a deblocking tip that is axially moveable toselectively protrude past said mounting surface and into said throat ofsaid venturi valve.
 29. The valve arrangement of claim 28, wherein saidbase includes a stanchion extending upwardly from said base, saidventuri cleaner assembly further including a sleeve received on saidstanchion and engaging said plunger to provide guidance and radialconstraint for said axial movement of said plunger.
 30. The valvearrangement of claim 29, wherein said venturi cleaner assembly furtherincludes a gasket disposed between said plunger, said stanchion and saidsleeve to provide a fluid-tight seal therebetween.
 31. The valvearrangement of claim 30, further comprising a spring coiled around saidplunger, said spring extending between a first shoulder formed on saidsleeve and a second shoulder formed on a handle mounted to said plunger.32. The valve arrangement of claim 28, further comprising a biasingelement urging said deblocking tip of said plunger out of engagementwith said throat of said venturi valve.
 33. The valve arrangement ofclaim 28, wherein said deblocking tip is sized to have a clearancebetween −0.02 mm and 0.05 mm. 34-45. (canceled)